The Stranger Sneak Peak
by MickDunD
Summary: The sneak peak at a brand new take on the MGE universe. Read and review to let me know if you'd like to see this style continued! Girl featured here: Apophis.


**THIS IS A SNIPPET OF A LARGER STORY I'M PLANNING TO RELEASE. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF IT AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE MORE. **

I pulled the cloak tighter around myself as the wind began to blow harder, throwing drops of water in my face. The sun had just begun to set when this drizzle had kicked up. It was annoying, feeling the water on my face after so long in the dry air of the mountains, but as with everything else I needed to just grin and bear it.

I heard a splash and then some muffled cursing from behind me. I turned around in time to see Iset sprawled out in a ditch, mud clinging to the bottom of her new clothes. She had dressed the same as me, wearing a few of the clothes we had acquired back in Hollost that Elena had deigned to alter to appear more feminine. A simple skirt sewn to one of my shirts formed a crude dress with a rather plunging neckline. All in all it looked very nice on her, going very well with the rather simple leather shoes she wore.

"Dammit, how do you do this all the time!?" she exclaimed, rolling onto her knees and crawling out of the puddle.

Yes, knees.

Even with that massive power we'd seen at the Dead City sealed away, Iset still assured us she had plenty of magics at her command. One of which was something called 'polymorph.' For tonight, at least until dawn came, she had altered her body under a very powerful illusion as well as physically changing her form for a short period of time. She had explained it in a very dramatic fashion and used terms that made no sense to me. The gist of it was that she now looked very different than she did. What had been a long snake tail was now two slender legs. Her skin was no longer an amethyst hue, replaced with a deep tan. Her eyes were now human as well. All in all, she looked much like I imagined she would if she had been born a human.

"Stupid…LEGS!" she shouted, finally clambering to her feet and trying not to fall back over.

Knowing she would eventually fall back over, I quickly moved to her side and put my arm around her waist, steadying her against my torso. Her hands automatically wrapped around me, chin burying in my chest as her breasts pressed against me. I swallowed and tried not to think about it but her grip offered me no chance to change my train of thought.

"How in the hells do you move with these things?" she hissed at me.

"I…hang on," I said, grabbing her and lifting her up a bit so her feet rested on the tops of my boots. I took her hands in mine and held her in place as I took a small step. "Feel that?"

Iset didn't say anything, slowly moving her legs in tune with mine as I slowly continued along the dark road. Her feet and legs flexed awkwardly at first, but then slowly moved to mimic the positions of my own legs as I stepped. Soon it was like I slowly eased off my grip, letting her adjust to the balance of her now posture. Pretty soon she was balancing easily on my feet. I suppose her tail probably afforded her some ridiculous core strength which carried over into her balance skills.

"It's so strange," she mused, finally hopping off me and taking a few wobbly steps. "This is how you move around all the time?"

"Pretty much," I chuckled, rushing ahead to steady her as she stumbled a bit. "Here, just lean on me. Town's not too far away."

Iset leaned into me, her hand intertwining with mine as we continued down the darkened path.

"I still don't see why we have to do this," she pouted.

"We're out of money," I sighed, squinting as the glow of the torches came into view. "This is the only town for three days walk and we don't have supplies past tonight. And as good of a hunter Elena says she is, I don't want to bet us going hungry on it."

"Ah," Iset nodded. "I see. So we are here to steal some gold?"

"Wha? No, not steal," I shushed her, as the guards came closer. "I'm going to see if there's any honest work I can get here."

"But we only have tonight," Iset reminded me. "I won't be able to keep this spell up come dawn. And if what Elena said about this place holds true…"

She didn't need to finish that sentence. This town, Bullim, was a deep order town. Elena told me she remembered in on her trip north. Apparently there was a small garrison of Order soldiers here that regularly patrolled the area. She casually remarked on how she had to duel three of them at the same time when they attempted to stop her and then spent the next three days at a constant run evading them. If that was their reaction to a Dhampir, there was no telling what they would do to Iset. At first I had offered to just go it alone, pick up a job for a few days and work a decent wage before moving on. But neither Elena nor Iset would hear it. One night was all we had before Elena wanted to move again, "towards the goal", and Iset didn't want me to be left alone for reasons she didn't deign to tell me.

"Hold it right there," one of the guards spoke in a tired voice. "'Ands where Oi can see them."

I did as he asked and put my hands in clear view.

"What're th' two ah yeh doin out so late at night," the man asked.

I opened my mouth to speak but Iset beat me to it.

"We were attacked on the road!" she whimpered, face set in the half-panicked, half-terrified gawk of a woman who had been thoroughly traumatized. "Oh it was so dreadful. Our caravan was ambushed by this brutish creature. It had golden eyes and it carried a terrifying blade. It carried off our horses, smashed our wagon, and made to take my husband! He was valiant enough to fight it off, but we've been left stumbling through the wilds for two days now."

"Almighty, save yeh," the other guard said, stepping forwards and putting his hand on his weapon. "Is the beast still out thar?"

"Unfortunately yes," Iset swooned, grabbing my arm and pressing herself against me hard enough that I could feel her nipples though the thin dress she wore. Dammit, she was enjoying this. "But that dull beast was no match for my husband's wit. The stupid, airheaded, dull,"

"Let's calm down, _dear,_" I stressed, pinching her side lightly. Of course she would use this as an opportunity to talk shit behind Elena's back. "What we're trying to say is…we've lost everything. Is there any chance we could enter town? I'm willing to work."

"Ah course yeh can," the first guard said, standing aside and rapping twice on the heavy knocker. "Open up! Two weary souls 'comin thru!"

"Make yer way to the Goat's Horns," the second one said as the small door in the side of the wall opened up. "Ol' Ouri always looking for bar hands. Yeh and yer lady can make a few coins tonight. Those Paladin's 'ave finally come back and they're always drinkin."

"Thank you," I smiled, stepping forwards and ducking slightly to get inside.

We walked through the small door and out onto the main street of Bullim. Once we were far enough away from the door and I reached over and grabbed Iset by her ear.

"Ow-ow-ow!" she whimpered. "What'd you do that for."

"That's for that ridiculous sob story you told those two," I scowled, releasing her. "Really? Attacked on the road by a golden-eyed thing with a sword?"

"Of course. How else would you explain a man and a woman in wet and muddy clothes walking around the countryside in the middle of the night?" Her face was set in a smug grin.

"Uh-huh. And this wasn't an excuse to call Elena names when she can't respond in kind?"

"Oh please, I don't have to be out of earshot to call that airhead what she is," she smirked, her grin downright serpentine.

"Sure," I rolled my eyes but couldn't suppress a smile. Elena really wasn't all that bright…but she did have heart. More than I thought any person could…

I was doing it again. I called her a person. Not a monster. Was I deliberately mixing the two up? I had noticed that I was becoming more and more relaxed around Elena even before that whole debacle in the desert. And now here I was pinching the ear of Iset, the supposed Eater of Suns and Greatest Calamity of the Ancient World, like I had known her for years now. But was it just these two? I don't remember many other positive experiences with monsters. Of course there was that man, Theo, and that werewolf. They seemed like decent people. But there was no way all monsters could be that…civilized, right?

"Ash?"

I blinked and turned my head to see Iset standing a few meters away from me. "Ash, is everything ok?"

I shook my head and walked forwards. "Fine," I muttered. "Just…got lost in my thoughts."

Iset was silent but didn't question me further as we walked through the streets towards the sounds of raucous laughter. A building came into view after a few moments. By the pair of goats horns mounted above the front door I assumed it was the tavern the guard had spoken about.

"Shall we?" I asked, gesturing for the door.

"Let's," she grinned.

I opened the door and was immediately assaulted by the stench of smoke, sweat, and cheap liquor. The interior of the building was benches laid out side by side with a single aisle down the middle towards the back where a simple bar counter was laid out. Men and women were sitting and standing in the aisle laughing and talking, a few of them pulling calmly from their pipes. Towards the back corner were a group of men sitting around a round table playing cards. To the far left side in the back corner were a group of better dressed men, some of them wearing chain mail armor. These must be the Paladins.

"Wait here," I told Iset.

I made my way back to the bar, pushing my way through the crowd. A few people turned their heads to look at me, but by now I think I was getting used to it. Most people in this land were pretty short compared to me. I guess Iset would be if she got on her coils, but she mostly kept herself pretty low to the ground. I pushed my way to the bar and signaled for the bartender.

"Evening," he nodded to me. "What'll it be?"

"Work, if you have any," I said, returning his nod. "The guardsmen pointed me your way. My…wife and I, we lost everything to a monster on the road."

He turned and gestured at Iset standing where I'd left her. Then an idea hit me and I had to stop myself from smirking. "We'd both be glad to work for anything you can spare."

The bartender, a middle aged man with his hair beginning to thin, did a double take after looking at Iset. I didn't blame him nor did I blame nearly every other man in the bar for taking quick glances at her over the rims of their drinks.

"I…suppose I could use some help with the tables," he said, tearing his gaze away from Iset. "Ever done busboy work before?"

"No sir," I said.

"What did you do then?"

"A bit of everything," I lied through my teeth. "Just haven't done busboy work yet."

He nodded and gestured for me to come behind the bar. I waved Iset over and told her what we were doing, taking pleasure in the barely veiled annoyance she showed when I told her that she would be working as well. Karma for her talking smack about Elena. The bartender, Ouri, showed us what we had to do before heading off to the tables to play cards with a group of men he knew. It was fairly simple work. Ale was three coppers. Anything out of a bottle was six. Empty mugs and tankards went in two separate buckets to be cleaned whenever there was a spare moment when I wasn't pouring drinks or bringing back empty cups. It was quite easy to fall into a routine and just let my body run on autopilot.

There was a crash from the other side of the bar and a bunch of men began laughing as Iset got back to her feet and collected the tray of empty cups she had dropped. Walking was still an issue for her at the moment and waitressing was obviously not easy for her. This was the seventh time she had fallen over and it looked like her patience was at an end judging from the way her eyes were flickering back to their original color. I shoved my way out from behind the bar and walked over to her, grabbing her under her arm and pulling her back to her feet.

"I hope you know you're going to pay for this," Iset hissed into my ear with playful malice.

"What do you mean?" I grinned at her.

"You…ugh, so insufferable," she shook her head with a pursed-lip smile. "Just get me behind the bar before I fall over again."

I nodded and pulled her along, kicking a stool up behind the counter as I walked. "Help me was these?" I asked, pointing to the half-full bin of empty tankards.

She nodded and I pulled another stool behind the bar to sit next to her. I washed the wooden cups with a bucket of clean water and then handed them to her to be dried. The smell of stale booze that surrounded the bin slowly vanished as they were cleaned. My hands fell back into that mind-numbing rhythm. This was good. Having a job to do and being able to focus on it rather than think about things. Like how absurd this whole situation is. Here I am, in a town, washing dishes about twenty feet away from heavily armed men who kill monsters, while sitting next to an ancient demon who once tried to eat the fucking sun of all things! Oh, and I slept with her at the bottom of a pyramid. I felt myself smile despite it all. I knew that this stuff shouldn't be possible, but at the same time I didn't know that to be true. What if I had met monsters before I lost my memory? What if I had been friends with them? Or maybe I had hated them like the priests of this place do?

A hard nudge shocked me out of my thoughts. "Ash," I looked to my right to see Iset looking at me concerned.

"Y-yeah?"

"You've been washing nothing for the last two minutes," she said, pointing at my empty hands wringing empty air. "You finished all the tankards."

"Oh," I pursed my lips. Had I really been that deep in thought?

"Is everything alright?" she asked, turning to face me. "This is the second time you've been like that tonight."

"I…I'm alright," I nodded. "Just thinking."

Iset's dry hand intertwined with my soaking wet one. I looked up and met her gaze, her human eyes momentarily shifting back to golden with a ripple of power. Her lips pulled up in a soft smile and her fingers gave mine a brief squeeze.

"NOBODY MOVE!"

The festivities ground to a halt as the Paladins suddenly stood up, their hands on their swords. In the middle of the group was a man I hadn't noticed before. He was average height with red hair pulled back behind his ears in a short braid that flipped back and forth as he looked around the room. He was wearing plain white robes that looked like they were made of heavy cloth. In his right hand was a walking stick with a carved star. In his left was an ornate silver pendant the size of an apple wrapped around a vial of liquid. The color of the liquid inside was a deep purple and was almost writing around inside.

An Inquisitorial Talisman.

"Good people of Bullim," he said in a voice that didn't quite match what he was doing. This boy was younger than I was…probably. "I am Brother Maynard of the Order. There is one amongst us who has given into temptation! A foul demon walks among us here in this very tavern!"

I winced as the other people inside began to murmur. Iset's little stunt letting her eyes show had set off the talisman. The Paladins surrounded the priest and began eying the women in the crowd.

"But fear not good people," he said, holding his hand to his heart. "We shall investigate and then cleanse this heresy from your homes. Please, aid us in our search. Approach us and we shall verify the purity of your soul."

I looked around as two of the Paladins went and stood by the door. I swallowed as the people inside the tavern began standing up and going over to the priest.

"Hey," I looked over to see Iset looking at me with a soft smile. "Relax, will you?"

"You have a plan?" I asked.

"Not exactly," she smiled, turning an empty tankard in her hands. "Just a hunch."

She dropped the tankard to the floor and then turned to face me. "Cover for me if this doesn't work," she winked as her eyes glowed a deep gold. The tankard suddenly jumped along the floor, clattering nosily along the aisle.

"Demon!" Maynard shouted in a squeaky voice before clearing his throat and brandishing his staff. "Paladins, to me!"

With a clattering of armor the men rushed at the cup. Iset grinned and manipulated the cup to begin bouncing towards the door, dodging and weaving between the legs of the soldiers. It ran circles around the boy priest, even jumping up high to smack him in the face before making a beeline straight out the door into the night!

"After it!" Maynard shrieked, terror in his eyes as he ran after it. The paladins all followed him, their armor and swords clanking as they cleared the tavern.

"You…" I had to hold back a chuckle at the spectacle. "That was your hunch?"

"He certainly looked inexperienced," she smiled, her eyes returning to the color of their disguise. "Definitely the type to chase after shiny things."

"Especially after it hits him in the face," I shook my head and filled a tankard with ale for myself. The warm and bitter liquid drew a grimace to my face as I drank, but I persevered. "Is that all you can do?"

"I used to be able to do so much more," she mused, sitting back on the stool. "Not anymore. And not that I would anyway. This is a different world from the one I went to sleep in. May as well get back to my roots."

"Roots?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" she asked with a coy smile. "That little show you saw me give the pussycat? An act. Nothing more. Couldn't be further from the truth. I never was a high born spirit. I was the lowest of the low when I started out. A nameless thing that was no different than any other minor spirit around me."

"Wait, if you were nameless then who gave you your name?" I asked, leaning on the counter as I looked over at her. "And why is having a name so important to you and Nefertiti?"

"Any spirit who could challenge the old gods has to have one," she shrugged with a nostalgic smile. "I couldn't just go around like a masked vigilante like people do these days fighting other spirits. With spirits, names were given to those who deserved them. Names were symbols of power and status. A spirit with a name was assured a place in the Book of Life. It made you respected by the Gods and beloved by humans."

"Then why act like the villain around Nefertiti?"

She smirked. "Because it's fun," she said. "Before I was this big shot evil monster who wanted to eat the sun, spirits like her abused the hell out of me and others like me. They viewed us as inferior things. Some of them even hunted us for sport. Them and the kings they served. Nameless things were replaceable, so why not enjoy it?"

She gave a wistful smile. "The moment I could fight back was the greatest moment of my life," she said. "It was the dream of every low-class spirit…and I finally achieved it. And it would be best if Pussycat still thinks of me like that. Less complicated."

"And you get to laugh at her while you do it?"

"That too," she sighed. "Whatever you can find written about that old dynasty will probably paint me as this massive terror intent on wiping out all that was good in the world. But that's only because spirits like her were the ones the Pharaohs trusted to write their words. They knew their spirits would never betray them or cast them in a bad light. Or write what actually happened."

"History is written by the victors," I muttered.

"Exactly," she said, blowing an errant strand of hair from her face. "I mean they weren't wrong with what I wanted: eternal night so that the God-King's power could never match my own. I was no different than the rest of the low-class spirits even when I had the power to do it. Highborn spirits wanted fame and power, and they went about it the wrong way. They fought against the Pharaoh's spirits and the way the gods worked, hoping they would make enough of a ripple in the river of life that someone would name them and give them a place in the Book of Life."

"But that's not what you did," I guessed.

She turned to me and showed me the nostalgic smile, with a hint of sadness touching her face. "I broke the most sacred taboo to all spirits," she said. "I named myself in the language of man. No one gave me the name Iset. I chose it for myself. And I became powerful enough to fight against the God King through doing something unthinkable to a spirit."

She turned to face me fully, her pupils thinning back into slits and the gold bleeding back into her irises. "I killed other spirits," she said in a whisper. "I took power from those just like me…until I was something more. Until I was on the level of what we all hated. I was like Nefertiti for a while, until I began devouring stronger spirits. I don't remember who they were at all."

She paused and looked down at her hand resting on the bar counter. "The powers I used were things considered beyond forbidden. Knowledge from before even the time of Ashakhet. And I used it."

Her face was solemn as she spoke, but her voice wasn't remorseful. Like she had long accepted what had happened and was just speaking facts.

"I devoured minor spirits, major spirits, even a few gods and greater demons," she continued. "Their names ceased to exist as I devoured them and erased them from the Book of Life. It made me strong enough to break the sky itself and bring everlasting darkness. This world would have ceased to exist as we see it had Ashakhet not stopped me."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

She smiled and shook her head slightly. "Because I never told anyone," she said. "You're the first man in history to know what really happened. Even the pussycat was fed watered-down lies by Ashakhet before he died. The Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom of Men were tyrants to both men and spirits alike."

She slumped against the bar counter and let out a satisfied sigh. "And now someone else knows the truth," she said.

I stayed silent for a few minutes, mulling over what she had said as I poured more drinks and washed more cups. I thought back to the paintings in the pyramid. They depicted men with magic hunting giant animals that were painted in off colors. Had those been spirits? That one carving I touched surfaced in my mind, the one showing the Pharaoh ripping the skin from a still-living snake after feeding a slave to it. The word 'tyrant' certainly sounded applicable.

"I…I don't blame you," I told her.

"Hm?"

"I don't blame you for doing what you did," I said. "I can't know what they did or how they did it. But from what I saw in the pyramid, you're right. They were tyrants. But now they're gone, right? Ashakhet was the last Pharaoh. And what's left of the Old Kingdom of Men is a pile of rubble."

I rounded on her and laid my hand on top of hers. "You did it, Iset," I said, a smile tugging at my lips. "It took a while, sure, but you did it. There are no more people who hunt spirits."

She looked at me for a few moments before a chuckle slipped from her calm façade. "You do have a funny way of looking at it," she giggled. "But I guess you're right…in a weird sort of way."

She patted my hand and then swiped my tankard from my grasp, taking a sip and shuddering. "By the gods, that's foul," she muttered.

"We aren't exactly at the Ritz," I shrugged.

My eyes suddenly widened as a lance of what felt like fire hit me right between my eyes as soon as the words left my lips. Ritz…that word sounded alien on my lips but at the same time like I had known it for my whole life. I had been close to remembering something…and that meant. The world began to fade away into white. Oh no. Not a hallucination. Not here after Iset's little stunt. There would be no explaining my behavior to a priest without giving away who I was…or worse, what Iset actually was. The whiteness almost closed in on me when I felt a hard pinch and startled up with a gasp. I looked down and saw Iset's hand had returned to its original hue, her long red nails digging into my wrist.

"Three times," she said, her eyes full of concern. "We need to get out of here."

"No," I pursed my lips and shook my head clean of the cobwebs. "No. I'm good."

"Ash…"

"Just drop it," I snapped, throwing back the rest of the ale and wincing. "We need the money. I can hold it together for just one night."

Iset looked at me like she didn't believe me. Slowly the pressure on my wrist let up, her nails shifting slowly back into her disguise.

"One more and I'll get you out of here," she warned. "Even if I have to drag you out."

"Deal," I nodded, slouching against the bar counter with a sigh. "And…thanks."

Her stony expression broke and a smile tugged at her lips. "Anytime," she leaned over and pressed a brief kiss to my cheek. I felt my cheek flushed and I turned away so she wouldn't see it. As I turned something in the corner caught my eye. It had been hidden behind the paladins as we came in so I hadn't seen it. It was a wooden box about five feet tall and four feet wide standing upright against the wall of the tavern. It was an unassuming thing, just made out of polished wood. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen this thing before.

I got up from behind the counter and walked over to it, ignoring Iset's calls for me. I pushed my way through the crowd, ignoring the cries of protest when someone spilled their drink. I stopped in front of the box and looked it over, reaching out after a few seconds and running my hand along the carved surface. An image suddenly flashed to my mind. This was a lid. I flipped it up and my eyes widened as I looked upon a row of polished white keys.

"Ash!" Iset hissed, suddenly beside me and grabbing my shoulder. "We are leaving _now_!"

"Iset, wait," I said, a smile forming at my lips as I reached out. "I…I think I know this."

A few memories…no, I couldn't even call them memories. They were just images, moving images of a pair of hands over the keys of a piano…_my _hands. Hours and hours spent bent over those keys, practicing for a school recital or a holiday family gathering. My hands reached out almost on their own, my right index finger striking a key and a note rang out. I remembered this. I knew this sound. My hands began a slow waltz over the keys, sticking with the lower notes. One-two-three-four, one-two-three-four, as the sheet music had dictated. A song was forming from my mind, birthed by this singular sensation. How many times I had played this, I didn't know. Where and when I had learned this song, I didn't know. All I knew was its name:

Moonlight Sonata.

I crouched over the stool-less piano, pushing my hands into the slow melody of Beethoven. The notes trickled over my ears as I closed my eyes, letting my shoulders sway slightly into the melody. I felt Iset's grip on my shoulder loosen and I looked up for a moment to see her staring intently at my fingers as they danced over the keys, playing the somber tune.

"Ash," she whispered to me. "Do you…remember?"

"…no," I said. "Just that I know how to do this…play the piano. I don't even know if I'm good or not."

"This is…wonderful," she breathed, sitting down hard in a nearby chair, eyes still focused on my hands.

"Then I'll keep playing," I smiled to her as I focused back on the keys.

The minutes passed by as I continued on from what I knew in my head. I could almost see the sheet music flashing by as the melody kicked up into a fast and lively tune. I did my best to block out the sounds of the tavern and focus solely on the music.

_No mistakes_, I told myself.

The song finally ended with a final definitive movement and I stood up with a start, panting hard as my back protested as it snapped back into place. It felt…good. Like stretching a muscle that I hadn't used in years. My hands were warm, far looser and limber than they had felt in weeks. It was like I'd just held a mug of hot coffee in my hands.

I jumped a bit as I felt hands grab my shoulders and spin me around. Iset stared at me, her eyes wide and an excited smile on her lips.

"That was incredible!" she was practically yelling as she wrapped her arms around my chest.

"R-really?" I wheezed as she relaxed her grip. I suddenly felt another hand on my shoulder. I looked over and saw two men from the tavern behind me. At that moment I realized that the entire establishment had gone quiet and every pair of eyes was on us.

"Sir," one of them said. "Tha' really was amazing."

"Weee's never heard music like that befere," the other man said, his voice slightly slurred. "Can yeh play anyting else?"

I opened my mouth to speak but Iset beat me too it.

"But of course," she said with that same "helpless damsel" voice she had used on the guards earlier. "My dear husband is an accomplished musician of renown."

"Izzat so?" the more inebriated one hiccupped. "Can ye play anyting else?"

"Of course!" Iset nodded, hugging one of my arms close to her chest. "But you see, good sirs, we recently lost everything to a monster on the road. We're rather destitute as of now. Could we come to an arrangement? A few coins for a song? We would greatly appreciate your kindness."

"Of course," the more sober man nodded eagerly, pressing a handful of silver coins into Iset's hands before looking at me. "Go on sir, play some more!"

"Uh, yes," I nodded, realizing what Iset had done.

I pulled one of the tavern benches over by the piano and sat down again. As I mulled over what song to play, I let my fingers wanger over the keys, striking a few notes. I could remember every single piece of sheet music I had ever seen as I looked down at the keys. It was a strange feeling; remembering something I had known for years again for the first time. I didn't know when I had started playing. I didn't know the name or face of the person who had taught it to me. I couldn't remember a single moment where I had played but yet I knew I could. It was frustrating and at the same time relieving. I had something now, something in my life that I could call my own again.

I snapped out of my thoughts, realizing my wandering hands had already selected Clair de Lune as the next piece. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the entire tavern had ground to a halt. All eyes were fixed on me. No one was drinking or eating anything. Even the card players had set their hands down, two of them having laid them out face-up by accident. I was about to turn back and continue playing when I saw Iset. She was standing directly behind me, her arms in front of her as she stared down at me. Her face seemed…less human now, showing more of her real features. Her eyes had turned back to gold and her lips were darker, almost back to their original amethyst hue as they turned up in a smile. But it was her eyes that were unnerving me. They were intense and extremely focused on me. She wasn't even blinking. It wasn't a malicious gaze or anything, it just seemed out of place on the normally bored and noncommittal face she had worn.

"Psst," I hissed out to Iset, who was just standing beside me.

She blinked out and looked at me, her disguise shifting back into place.

"Could you sit down?" I asked. "You're…making me nervous."

She took a seat right next to me on the bench, scooting so she was right next to me as Debussy's masterpiece wound down. My hands jumped from that final chord into a slow waltz up and down the keys, feeling out different chords by instinct and sound.

"Your disguise was slipping," I whispered to Iset.

"I…I know," she whispered back, her hand laying to rest on my knee and squeezing a bit. "It's just…this is such wonderful music. I never heard anything so beautiful."

"I'm glad," I chuckled, nodding to the coins she still had clutched in her hand. "Otherwise we'd still be scrubbing tables."

"Thanks the stars for this then," she smirked, tucking the coins away. "So you used to play this…whatever it is?"

"Piano," I told her. "And obviously. I don't remember anything other than the music. My hands just…know where to go."

I finished that last sentence by jumping straight into a cover of Katyusha, someone in the audience rushing up to hand Iset another few coins as payment before rushing back to his seat. I remembered this wasn't how Katyusha was supposed to be played, but something about the melody brought a smile to my face, my fingers slamming down on the keys to create a hard and blocky Russian tone. I felt Iset jump beside me slightly at the shift in tempo and a snickered a bit as she playfully slapped me in return.

"This is different than the others," she noted, eyes again fixed on my hands.

"It is," I said. "This is a cover. It's a song that wasn't supposed to be played on the piano. I don't know why I know that but I know that I…I like this melody. Maybe it…means something to me and I just don't know what it is."

I looked over and saw Iset's hands resting atop mine as I played through. Her eyes closed, her fingers pressing down slightly over mine so they moved in the same way as I struck the keys. Her lips parted a scant centimeter and her head tilted back slightly, her hair slipping behind her shoulders and falling down her back. Her shoulders were slowly swaying back and forth, not unlike a cobra watching a snake charmer.

A fact flashed before my eyes. Snakes may not have ears, but they feel the vibrations from sound just fine. And Katyusha on piano was primarily heavy deep chords that reverberated up through my hands. I held back a snicker as I saw Iset fall deeper into that trance. I felt the tempo pick up, slamming a few hard notes down and watching a shudder run through Iset's body. Her free hand came up and rested on my knee again, squeezing it slightly as her head tilted down.

_Uh-oh._

Katyusha jumped into its last movement, the song winding down calmly with a drawn out finish. Iset's grip on my hand didn't let up, though. Neither did her grip on my knee, which was slowly sliding up my leg towards my thigh.

_Double uh-oh._

I pulled my hand away from the keyboard and stood up quickly. Right away two more people came up to me, hands full of coins. I had to politely refuse them, claiming that it was getting late and we needed to get some sleep so as to get back on the road as soon as possible. I hauled Iset up, keeping her head pointed down as I supported her shoulders. I threw a silver coin to Ouri, which he responded by throwing me a key to a room and directions to the back of the hallway. I guided Iset up the stairs and across the hallway, straight to a green door with a simple brass handle. I unlocked it and opened it, walking us inside and locking the door behind us.

I set Iset down on the bed and almost immediately her disguise came undone. Tan skin darkened to deep amethyst and legs fused together, turning back into a long black snake tail that shifted back and forth on the sheets. Her body took up most of the space in the cramped room, her tail draped across the bed and onto the floor.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Yesssss," she yawned out, her eyes half lidded as she shifted back up on her coils.

"You liked the song?"

"Yesssss," she smiled, her lips pulling back as she stretched out her body, her tail slipping down on the floor towards me. "I must admit, I enjoyed it very much."

I felt the tip of her tail slide past my ankle, her smile slipping over into a grin. Next thing I knew I was being yanked through the air and onto the bed. Iset slipped past me, her tail wrapping around my legs and pinning me in place. It was tight enough to keep me from moving and did put a bit of pressure on my lungs, forcing my lips open slightly. For some reason though she left my hands free. Her eyes were gleaming with that same lustful intensity as before.

"I don't think I've ever felt this way before in my life," she hissed out, forked tongue slipping between her lips slightly as she leaned down towards my face.

"I-Iset?"

Quick as a striking snake, her face darted forwards and captured my lips with hers. The scent of vanilla and grapes filled the air as she kissed me slow, nibbling softly on my lower lip. After a moment, my hands moved up to cup her face, at first to try and get her to release me, but then settled in to hold her tight. Her long tongue slipped out and easily overpowered mine, her arms wrapping around the back of my head as her coils shifted me up into a sitting position. Her body pulled tight against me, her breasts crushing against my chest. The kiss soon moved from tender to aggressive, her hands sliding up and down my body, yanking my shirt and vest off me. She pulled back, the both of us panting slightly as she looked down at me. I returned her gaze, my mind numbed slightly from the kiss.

Iset's lips turned from a sultry smile to a wicked grin. I felt my own eyes widen as I caught on to her train of thought.

"Iset, hold on," I said, holding my hands up in front of me. "This town doesn't like monsters. They'll hear it and come knocking."

He hand lashed out towards the door, which glowed bright gold, faint runes shimmering in and out of existence as they spread out across the floor and the ceiling. Some form of silencing spell, I assumed as her eyes burned a powerful gold. I swallowed as she turned back to me, her tongue sliding out over her lips. The dress she wore vanished so quickly it may have well been by magic, revealing her breasts and dark purple nipples.

"Iset, come on, this isn't a good idea," I stiffened as her coils began pressed on my crotch, the wide belly scales grinding against my half-erect member.

"Hmmmm," she hummed, her hand darting down to fiddle with the button of my jeans. "This part of you disagrees."

"Iset, we-"

My plea died in my throat as she darted forwards, sinking her fangs into the exposed skin of my shoulder. I gasped out at the sensation of pain. It was nothing like the sweet, soft pressure from Elena. This was like getting a shot. But that pain was short lived as an intense heat blossomed from around the bite. I grit my teeth and felt my hands clench into fists as that warmth spread through my body, through my chest and down towards my legs. My skin felt like it was burning and my member immediately hardened as the heat reached my torso. A violet haze settled over my mind, bleeding into the corners of my vision. The room swayed like desert heat as my body began to act on autopilot, my hands reaching up towards Iset's considerable breasts. They did not get far. A length of black snake tail shot out and pinned them against my sides. Cool scales kissed my burning skin, drawing a hiss of my own from my lips. Almost as if the noise set her off, Iset dove forwards and kissed me again, her hands tangling in my hair and her nails roughly scratching my scalp. I didn't care. I almost didn't even feel the pain as her tail roughly slid up my waist, the tip deftly knocking open the button of my jeans and yanking them down around my ankles. The sensation of the air on my cock alone was enough to make me gasp. Iset pulled back once more, looking down at me with a wicked grin as her tail began to slowly move across my skin. A groan escaped my lips at the sensation of smooth belly scales dragging across my hyper-sensitive skin, her coils changing positions until I was propped up in a sitting position, straddling a length of her tail.

A cross between a hiss and a purr escaped her lips as Iset leaned back and looked at me, "standing up" on her tail so she was now taller than me. I could do nothing but stare back at her and pant slowly as she moved me into position. Her hand reached out and cupped the underside of my chin.

"So perfect," she cooed softly, her fingers trailing down my throat and across my chest, her nails sending shivers down my spine. I tried to talk but all that escaped my lips was a groan as her nails dragged a painfully slow circle around my navel. My hips bucked, trying to find some purchase against her scales and break free. My body was dead set on her. I wanted her. I _needed_ her.

"Shhhhh," she whispered to me, her hand hovering under my belly button as my cock throbbed, anticipating her touch. "You can't fight it. You can't fight me. Let it go."

"I-Iset," I hissed out through clenched teeth, my fingers flexing against her scales.

Her free hand came up and pulled my head in close for a tender kiss. I leaned into it like my life depended on it. It was all the venom, I knew that. I just didn't care. Nothing else mattered.

My entire body jolted as her hand finally reached its target. I groaned out as her hand played with my swollen member, her nails torturously scraping the skin. My hips bucked on their own, thrusting against her coils. She hummed into my mouth as I struggled, her hand motions picking up as my movements increased. I was soon thrashing around hard as I could and she was gasping out, hand almost a blur as she stroked me. She broke the kiss with a gasp, leaning back as her hand gripped me like a vice. My venom-addled mind did the only logical thing: I lunged forwards as far as I could and took her dark purple nipple in my mouth.

"OH!" Iset threw her head back with a short cry as I relentlessly attacked her breast, nibbling and sucking on her nipple like a hungry child. Her grip on my cock grew tighter and her speed picked up until I couldn't hold it any longer. My body sized up as I came, every single muscle in my torso and back contracting as spurt after spurt of semen erupted from my tip.

Iset's grip on me relaxed a moment and I slipped from her coils to the bed, gasping and panting hard as my body tried to recover. Iset wavered slightly on her coils, making me look up in time to see her…licking her hand clean of my release. Her eyes were glowing even brighter now, like molten gold against her black sclera. The haze had cleared from my mind a bit, my body cooling down slightly as I stared up at the Apophis.

"Deliciousssss," Iset purred, her tongue flicking out as she looked down at me.

"Glad you think so," I groaned, trying to flex my fingers. My body was largely unresponsive, only my first few joints in my fingers moving as well as my toes. Every nerve in my body was

Iset smiled softly and leaned down, her coils shifting around me as she pushed us close together.

"You took it well," She giggled, running her hand over my chest and enjoying the flinch that ran through my body. "Still so sensitive."

"Gee, I wonder why?" I groaned sarcastically.

"Hmmm," she chuckled, her hand dropping lower. "But you're still so eager."

I held back a groan, my eyes, going wide as she roughly caressed my length. I was still hard somehow and her touch was doing me no favors. I grit my teeth and tilted my head back out of reflex, but all that did was give Iset the opportunity to lean down and kiss me again. Just like before, I felt myself melt into the lip lock. Was it the residual venom coursing through my veins that made me so easy to surrender to her? Could it be just some chemical cocktail affecting the neurons in my brain creating this complete apathy towards common sense? My hand sluggishly moved up and latched onto her right breasts, squeezing gently as my thumb rubbed over her nipple. Iset hummed appreciatively into the kiss and her coils shifted, her hand pulling my cock right towards her hips until…

I felt an indescribable tightness envelop me. Not unlike the sensation of being constricted by a python, but definitely a better way to go. Iset and I both tried to stifle our moans at the sensation and failed. A cute sigh escaped her lips in contrast to the ugly grunt that I made. A second passed before Iset's tail snaked under my hips, pushing me deeper inside as I was once again wrapped around my chest in her coils. Our kiss broke and we stared into each other's eyes, panting slightly. Iset's lips turned into a slight grin, her tail tip darting out and pinning my arms against my sides. Her eyes were still glowing that luminous gold and her grin turned downright serpentine.

"Oh no," I swallowed.

"Struggle all you want," she said, her tongue flicking out playfully.

She bit me again on my left shoulder and almost immediately my body exploded into heat. My hips bucked as hard as I could make them, straining against her coils. Her pussy tensed around me, her hips flexing inwards against mine. A throaty moan escaped her lips and in that moment her tail loosened. With strength I would be hard pressed to find again, I threw my entire body forwards. Her coils slipped my hands, which I threw around her back and pulled her close against my chest. I got my feet under me and pushed her down, hips thrusting deeply into her.

"AH! Ash, what are you mmmmhm!" she exclaimed as I straddled her tail, pressing on the balls of my toes to thrust as deep inside her as I could. Her protests died off as her own arms grabbed me behind my head and pulled me in close. Her coils pulled around us tight, creating a one-woman mating ball and giving me only enough room to trust hard and deep inside her. I cannot begin to describe the feeling. Between the heat of the venom coursing through my blood, the cool sensation of her scales on my back and legs, and the warm wet tightness of her snatch, I felt like I was going insane. My body moved on its own like it was possessed, arms holding Iset for dear life as my hips pounded harder and harder. Iset was staring past me at the ceiling, panting out in a language that I can't begin to understand. Some forgotten tongue of the Old Kingdom of Men, but it flowed from her lips like wine.

I don't know how long we stayed like that; me coiled in her embrace and my arms wrapped around her shoulders, the both of us switching between panting and frantic kissing. I felt my release building a long way off, my balls twitching as my climax edged closer and closer. Beneath me, Iset was also showing the signs. Her pussy was squeezing me in sync with my thrusts and her gasps were coming out closer together. The heat coming off of us was almost visible by this point. I couldn't hold it any longer. I thrust once, twice, and on the third time I erupted inside her with a gasp. Iset cried out as her own orgasm overtook her, her coils constricting around me so tight I felt my ribs creak. Her pussy squeezed me tight, a gush of fluids soaking my thighs. The smell of vanilla and grapes filled the room as I grabbed Iset's head and pressed my lips to hers. She responded in kind, her hands tangling in my hair as we laid there.

Slowly, her coils slipped away from my body, becoming loosely draped across me instead of binding me to her. My now-softening length slipped from her snatch, a clear trail of white tricking from it as I flopped on my side beside her. The sound of our pants filled the room as I stared up at the wooden rafters of the ceiling. I looked over as Iset rolled over to face me, her hand draping across my chest as she snuggled in close to me, her eyes locking with mine as the glow died out, leaving the room in darkness.

"We should leave," I groaned after a few minutes. "We made enough money tonight."

"Hmmm, I suppose so," she yawned and turned her face into my shoulder, her tail tip wrapping comfortingly around my right ankle.

"…are you going to move?" I asked.

"Can you even move?" she chuckled. "The first time I bit you it was a few hours before you could move again."

"Give me a minute," I scowled, flexing my fingers. But that was all I could manage to move for even a few minutes afterwards. "…dammit."

Iset chuckled and moved her tail over me like a blanket. "Shhhhh," she told me, running her nails through my hair. "We have time. Just relax. I'll take care of it."

I knew I should argue and fight her on this. But I was just so tired. Plus this was the first real bed I had slept in since I'd first met Elena and the softness was almost criminal after three weeks of sleeping bags.

"…fine," I murmured, letting myself sink back into the bed, letting Iset pack more of her coils across me in place of the blanket. It was actually quite soothing. Hopefully I didn't dream. That would ruin this rare moment of peace.

**XXX**

The Dhampir sat by a lone campfire by the bend of an old river. A scowl marred her beautiful features as she angrily stabbed at the flickering flames with a stick, throwing sparks into the night sky. It had been two days since they had gone to Bullim. They said they'd only be gone one night. If they didn't come back tonight she'd make her move. No matter what the Paladins threw at her, she'd rescue Ash.

Her nose suddenly perked up as a familiar smell. Immediately she shot up and spun around, a smile blossoming on her lips.

"Ash!" she called out as a pair of figures materialized from the darkness of the woods, a man and an Apophis. Quicker than the eye could track, she sprinted, launching herself through the air at him.

"Elena, whoa!" the man exclaimed, bringing his hands up to catch her as she threw her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face in his short hair.

"I missed you," she cooed, threading her hands behind his head and looking down at him. She paused and sniffed him closely, ignoring the large blush that spread across his face.

"E-Elena?" he asked as she pulled his shirt to the side, exposing a half healed bite marks.

The Dhampir's face turned angry, rounding on the Apophis. "So this is what happens when I let you two out of my sight?" she snapped, not letting go of Ash's neck. "You go off screwing around in town?"

"You could say that," the Apophis shrugged with a sly smile. "It certainly was enjoyable. The two of us around without any _distractions."_

"WHY YOU!"

The man sighed, still holding the Dhampir in his arms as the bickering restarted. All was back to normal.


End file.
